Superhumans
by Nihal Tonks-Lupin
Summary: Hawkmoth finally got what he wanted: Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous. But Marinette and Adrien wouldn't just let him have Tikki and Plagg. They would try to rescue them. There was no secret identity that was worth their kwamis' life.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Well, it finally happened, guys. I finally wrote my first ML fanfic.

Before you go on, some things you should know:

a) This is not how I want the "secret identity revelation" to happen on the show. I just wrote it this way because of a theory of mine.

b) This is not a shipping love story. This is a friendship story. So don't get _too_ disappointed with Mari and Adrien reactions at the end, ok? They were more worried with their friends than their secret identities.

I hope you guys like it. M-rated ML fanfic is on the way, so be pacient! Reviews/likes are appreciated! I will thank you all.

* * *

Alya found her at a side street.

Marinette had bruises all over her body and a nasty cut on her cheek. Alya wondered how she got all those injuries. She feared moving her, but couldn't leave her friend there, when there was so much danger all over town. Alya retrieved her friend's small purse from the ground, and half carrying half pulling Marinette along the way, she managed to deliver her home.

Her parents took care of her, and an hour later she was safely in her bed, with Alya beside her. It wasn't long after that that she woke up.

"Alya?! Where am I? What happened?" she tried to sit down but the pain was too much.

"Hey, calm down! You're in your room. I found you on the street, wounds everywhere, passed out."

Marinette bit her lower lip and suppressed a cry. Her memory was coming back now. Hawkmoth got her miraculous, she de-transformed and fell. She remembered vaguely Chat Noir trying to save her, but all went black after that. Was he alright? Did he managed to escape? Her breathing became rapid and shallow. Alya was worried.

"Marinette, what happened to you? When Hawkmoth's villain appeared everyone ran away. What were you still doing there? Did you came back, was caught or something?"

"Alya, I-"

Her excuse was interrupted by Alya's phone ringing. She thought about turning it off, but when she saw it was Nino calling, she decided it was better to know if he was ok.

"Nino! Is everything alright with you? Did you got hurt when we fled?"

She listened his answer, and Marinette had a horrible feeling. Alya looked more and more worried.

"But you're taking care of it, aren't you?" another pause. "Ok then. Call me if anything happens."

"What was it?" Marinette demanded.

"Nothing, everyone's fine. Now you need to rest. Have faith in Ladybug and Chat Noir, they'll save us all, like they always do."

Alya went downstairs to give the Dupain-Chengs an update on their daughter, while Marinette remained on her bed, feeling more alone than ever.

Tikki was gone.

That single thought made a warm tear to come down and leave a wet spot in her pillow. What was she going to do without her adored friend? She needed to save the city, yes, but more than anything she wanted her friend back. And Chat Noir. She was so worried about her partner. But nothing would resolve itself if she stayed in her room, crying.

With that resolution in mind, she got out of bed, put her everyday clothes and prepared to leave. Alya came back to find her putting her small purse on her shoulder.

"Where, on God's name, do you think you're going?"

"Alya, you don't understand-"

"I sure do not! You can barely stay on your feet, and now you want to go outside? What is so urgent that you need to risk your life for it?"

Marinette raised one hand to stop her friend's rant.

"You asked me to have faith in Ladybug. Well, I do. But she will not save the city if I stay here."

"What do y-"

Marinette hugged her friend tight.

"I'm so so sorry. I wanted to tell you so bad. Tikki said I couldn't, it could put you, and me, in danger. All I can do now is to ask you to put in me the same faith you put in Ladybug."

Still shocked, Alya couldn't say a word.

"I have to find Chat Noir. We need to stop Hawkmoth."

And then she managed to sneak out of the house without her parents seeing her. Alya would cover her, she was sure. Oh god, they'd have so much to talk about when she get back! A cold feeling went down her spine. Would she ever come back? How could she defeat her archenemy without her powers? But she had to try. And se was sure Chat Noir would come up to help her. He always did.

When she was already on her way, Alya received another phone call from Nino.

"Alya! You will _not_ believe this."

"What is it?"

"Adrien is Chat Noir! Our Adrien! He. Is. Chat. Noir."

Alya gasped. What the hell happened to the world?!

"In that case, I have something to tell you too…"

"Wait. There's more. He left. I just went out for _one second_ …"

"What do you men he left?! You said you were taking care of him at your house!"

"I'm telling you, he just dropped that bomb that he is Chat Noir and slipped away when I wasn't looking! I think he is gonna try to stop Hawkmoth."

* * *

Returning to the same spot where she fell, Marinette had a shiver. This is it. Her chance to prove she is more than a costume, that she needed more than just magic powers to fight. She gave a deep breath and was about to go inside the building when someone called her name. she turned and saw Adrien going towards her, using an arm sling and limping.

"Adrien! What happened to you?!" she helped him to sit down.

"I tried to-" he panted, trying to regain his breath. "I tried to run and get here as fast as I could, but my leg…"

"Why were you trying to get here for? It's dangerous! Hawkmoth is inside that building with a crowd of villains!"

Adrien opened his mouth to answer, but then he noticed something.

"I could ask you the same. What are _you_ doing here?"

Marinette stood up and looked at the building in front of them.

"I'm here to stop him."

"Well, that's _my_ answer. _I'm_ here to stop him."

Marinette looked anxiously at him. Why would he throw himself in the middle of the chaos when most people were just waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to appear?

"I can't let you do it. You're already hurt. You would only hurt yourself even more."

Adrien looked at the huge bandage covering half of her face.

"You look as hurt as I am. What happened to you?"

"I… I fell. And you?"

"I tried to save… someone. But I failed, now I don't know if I almost got killed for nothing, because she might be dead."

His voice failed at the last word. Marinette felt a sting in her heart to see him in pain like that.

"What are we saying? We can't even save ourselves, what could we do against Hawkmoth, now that he has Ladybug's miraculous?"

Adrien felt all blood leave his face.

"He got her miraculous?"

Marinette didn't even noticed she was crying again. The silent teardrops fell from the corner of her eyes.

"He did. And now Tikki is gone, and I don't know what to do without her!"

Her legs failed and she dropped to her knees. Adrien rushed to her side, putting one hand on her back and holding one of hers with the other.

"I'm sorry, Marinette. Tikki is a friend of yours? How did you lose her?"

It didn't mattered anymore. She could tell him now. She was no longer Ladybug.

"Tikki is my kwami."

Adrien felt his head spinning. He fell back, not touching Marinette any longer. Could it be…

"But if you have a kwami then it makes you…"

"…Ladybug, yes. But I'm not Ladybug anymore. Hawkmoth captured Tikki, and I'm just Marinette now."

Adrien got up, helping her do the same.

"Marinette, you're never _ever_ 'just Marinette'. You're the only person brave enough to come out here and try to stop that lunatic, even without any special powers. You're amazing, that's what you are."

For one second, Marinette forgot about her worries, the danger they were in, all she had to do to make things right, and let herself to get lost on the smile Adrien gave her. Her only visible cheek was pink. Then, like a wrecking ball, it hit her. _'Adrien knows what a kwami is.'_

"Adrien…"

"I'm so sorry, my lady. I was late. And I'm afraid we can't use this nice afternoon to talk about ourselves. Not today, at least. Tomorrow, how about that? The only thing we have to do is defeat Hawkmoth once again and survive this day."

Marinette was desperately trying to understand his words, the way he was talking. It could not be, could it? Adrien could not be…

" _Chat Noir?_ " she gave one step closer to him.

"My lady."

He let her scan his face, he could almost see her brain trying to compare the face she was seeing now with the one who wears the black mask.

"Chat…"

"Marinette, you need to call me 'Adrien' for today. I swear to you, we will tell each other everything, but we must go in and rescue our kwamis now. Plagg was taken too."

"His name is Plagg?"

"Yes. And I feel just as lost without him as you feel without Tikki."

Marinette looked down and closed her eyes for a moment. When she managed to calm down her racing heart, she looked at him again.

"Let's go."

"Hem-hem."

They heard someone loudly clear his throat behind them and looked back. A small man in a red shirt with a flower pattern hold a staff and looked amused. A green kwami flew beside him.

"Now now. You didn't think I'd just let you two go in there without any help, did you? But I do appreciate your courage to do so. Come kids, it's time to teach that man a lesson."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** So, to be completely honest, I'm not 100% confident about this fanfic. I feel like I could have done better. I prefer to write about canon material rather than filling in gaps we don't have answers for yet. Anyway, I said I'd only write this chapter if I had a bit more information about Master Fu. I hadn't, but the idea came to me anyway and I had to write it.

You guys can trust for better fanfics in the future. For the time being, enjoy this one!

* * *

"Ha, who would have thought, right? I mean, you being Chat Noir is shocking enough, but _Marinette_ …"

Adrien was not listening. He registered when her name was mentioned, but his mind could not pay any attention to what Nino was saying. He could only think of her.

His lady. His beloved partner. So much happened since the day before. They found out about each other's secret identities, he met Master Fu (Marinette seemed to already know him), rescued their kwamis, let Hawkmoth escape, and then got separated again. Master Fu told them to go home and rest, they still were very injuried from their fight, but all he wanted to do was take Marinette by the hand (and never let go) so they could go to a quiet place and talk. _Maybe more than talk._ Adrien blushed, praying that his friend was still too busy talking to notice.

He thought about calling her cellphone, but decided against it. What would he say? He needed to look her in the eyes, feel her presence near him, hear whatever she had to say too. What troubled him the most was the fact that he'd been sitting right in front of her everyday for so long and never knew it was her. _Or did I?_ They didn't have a good start, no, but Marinette always seemed so nice and sweet, he liked being around her, see how happy and comfort she always is among her friends and specially her family, and – _oh._

He was the most _blind cat_ there ever was. He spent so much time dreaming about the lady in the costume that he couldn't see the signs of his own feelings even though they were screaming inside him.

Adrien loved Marinette.

As Chat Noir or as Adrien he knew he loved _Ladybug_ , but it never occurred to him that both versions of him were in love with Marinette too. Luckily to him, Ladybug and Marinette were the same person. He needed to see her.

"So, what are you going to do now, buddy?"

"What?" Adrien blinked at Nino.

"I said what are you going to do. I mean, I'm not gonna talk about this to anyone, except Alya, but you need to talk to Marinette now, don't you?

Adrien feared his face revealed what he was thinking just moments ago, but his friend said it more cleary:

"You should agree on a sign of something when you need to leave class to save the city. It could be helpful to avoid any of you getting into trouble at school. I can help you guys with that, and I'm sure Alya will too."

"Thanks, Nino. You're the best friend I could've asked for." Adrien put his hands on his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the door on his right. He needed to leave and talk to her. Whatever happened after that, he would leave it to Fate.

Marinette wasn't home. She'd been talking to Alya on the park, after having breakfast at her house.

"What do you mean he will hate you?"

Alya looked at her friend like she had gone mad. Marinette had burried her face on her hands and refused to look up.

"Whenever I, as Marinette, interacted with him as Chat Noir I was never nice. I never paid him much attention, I could only think about Adrien. I never blushed or stammered as I always do when I'm near Adrien. I treated him the same way I do when I'm Ladybug."

Alya thought about it a moment. What Marinette was saying didn't make sense.

"Isn't that a good thing? I mean, now you know that you can actually talk to him as friend and partner. Also, does he even _know_ you love him?"

"Oh."

Marinette raised her head. He didn't know. She never told him.

"See? He can't hate you for that if he doesn't know you love him in the first place. More importantly, you need to talk to him, feel comfortable again when you're with him, or you will never be able to defeat Hawk Moth for good. You need to trust each other as you did before."

Marinette thanked Alya for being so patient with her. She was feeling lost and embarrassed, but she would not be able to avoid Adrien forever. Marinette said she wanted to stay in the park a little longer to think it all over, so Alya promised to talk to her again soon and left.

As she sat there on the park bench, Marinette remembered her interactions with Chat Noir. There was something bothering her. Chat Noir was always flirtatious with Ladybug, and he also did that with Marinette, but… has he ever done it with _any_ other girl? She tried to recall all the times she saw him saving girls, but nothing like that came to mind. He was polite with them, for sure, always boasting about his skills, but he never acted the same way he did with her. What does it mean?

' _No, that's ridiculous.'_

More importantly, now they had a _much bigger_ problem to be worried about:

Hawkmoth now knew who they were.

That thought alone waived away all the other things she was thinking about, and she didn't even noticed when Adrien entered the park and stood petrified at the gate.

He finally found her. He tried her house, but her mother (a very nice woman, he didn't know exactly why she was so nice to him) said she went out with Alya a while ago, and hurried him to find her. Adrien has been looking for her all over Paris when he realized he was stupid not to check the park first. When he got there, he saw Alya leave by the gate on the other side of the park and Marinette stay behind. What now? Should he just go over there?

But when he was still debating with his courage, something happened. Screams. People running away.

' _An akuma!'_

He ran towards the screams, still limping from his injured leg, and got to the street. A second later, Marinette was at his side.

Marinette was startled to see Adrien standing right by her side, but that was not the time to talk. They had work to do.

They shared a look, nodded at each other and took a step forward.

"Tikki, transform me!"

"Plagg, transform me!"

After their transformation was complete, Marinette looke at her costume and gave a nostalgic sigh. _'It's good to be back.'_

"Let's go, Chat Noir."

"After you, My Lady."

Adrien wasn't thinking when he said that. It just came out. He was so used to say it that it never occurred to him it could be awkward from now on. Sensing his confusion, Marientte just smiled and jumped forward.

Their fight with the akumatized person was not easy. They were still very injured from their fight the previous day, and it was like Hawkmoth gave that person more power than usual, but eventually they managed to defeat it and capture the akuma. Both Adrien and Marinette were relieved to see that their dynamic was not less efficient because of recent events. They trusted each other, always knowing the way the other would move and think. They were still partners.

When it was all over, they changed back to their normal selves. Adrien guided her back to the park, and they awkwardly sat on one of the benches.

"I think we need to talk." He said.

"We do." She answered without meeting his eyes.

Adrien was sitting as far away from her as possible, afraid she would run away if he got too close. He mastered all the courage he had to talk to her _looking_ at her.

"Marinette, I haven't been completely honest with you." He said with a serious expression on his face.

Marinette felt her heart racing, beating against her rib cage, her face getting warmer and warmer.

"This may be a surprise for you, but I am Chat Noir."

She burst out laughing, feeling her fears disappearing with his sillyness. Only _her_ Chat could be that goofy.

"Well, I'm shocked. But you may be equally surprised to know that I'm Ladybug."

He opened his golden smile. _'Good!'_ , Marinette was feeling more comfortable with him. He put a hand at his chest dramatically.

"It all makes sense now."

Marinette wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Adrien gulped, all jokes were over now.

"I'd be in trouble if you and Ladybug were not the same person. It would be quite difficult and very confusing to love two girls at the same time."

He looked away scratching the back of his neck, too embarrassed to look at her. Marinette was stunned. Her heart was doing some kind of irish jig in her chest, she felt her throat tightening and a chill go down her spine. For a few seconds, she couldn't understand what was happening to her.

Then it hit her: she was feeling a huge _joy_.

"Adrien!"

"I know! I know! I'm sorry. I mean, I'm not sorry for loving you, but for saying it like this, right after we fought and akum-"

"No! That's not what I meant!" she interrrupted him. Marinette took a deep breath. "I'm so happy I don't even know what to say right now, ha." She chuckled.

Adrien blinked. _'Happy?'_

"I've been in love with you since… since…" her voice faded when she saw him blush. If _he_ was blushing like that, her face was most certanly bright red right now.

"Since?"

"…the day you lend me your umbrella."

Adrien felt a sting in his heart. _'But that was ages ago!'_ She've been in love with him all this time? Plagg teased him about a girlfriend that day, but he only thought she was been nice to him, the newbie of the class. He smiled shyly.

"So… what now? I don't really know what to do."

So they finally got to the point of thinking about the future. Marinette felt her joy fading away when she remembered the big problem they would have to face. And her theory was confirmed with the akuma they had just fought. Adrien noticed her face getting more and more serious.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't… I don't know if we can be together."

The boy looked at her intensily. What was she talking about? They had just confessed to each other, what could keep them apart? Marinette could see that he hadn't realized the problem yet.

"We-We have an enemy, Chat Noir."

He frowned. _'Chat Noir?'_

"You mean Hawk Moth? What does he have to do with any of it?"

"We have an enemy _who knows who we are_. He will target us at all times, akumatize people around us, try to defeat us everytime we are together. We won't be able to go anywhere!"

Adrien thought about it. He understood the problem now. Then he smiled again. Marinette was puzzled.

"What?"

"Ladybug, my lady. Can't you see it? Our problem is also our _solution_." He smirked. "If Hawk Moth hopes to defeat us, he will not try to attack us when we are together, he'll do it when we are apart, so one cannot save the other. You might as well be stuck with me for the rest of your life."

Adrien blushed in the last sentence, but Marinette smiled at him.

"That's not a bad thing. And you might be right. We need to stick together to protect everyone and each other." She sighed. "I was worried, but didn't need to. After all, we defeated Hawk Moth even without our miraculous."

Adrien chuckled. She was right. He reminded her that it made no sense to worry about Hawk Moth akumatizing people around him, as every single one of their classmates had already been through that. They sat there for a few minutes in an awkward silence.

"I think I should go home. My parents don't know where I am."

"Ahm, ok then." They both stood up. "Do you mind if I walk you home?"

"Sure, if you want."

Adrien and Marinette walked without talking much. When they were a block away from her house, he stopped, boldily holding her hand.

They didn't need to say anything, as both of them craved for what was about to happen. They had kissed before but not like this. Not without secrets, confusion, akumas, battles and costumes. They hadn't kissed yet as a couple. So when they did it, it was a completely new feeling. His injured arm screamed in pain, but he freed it from the arm sling to hold her head with both hands, carefully not to hurt her further, as half her face was still in bandages. Marinette pulled him by his white shirt. Their lack of experience didn't make it bad or less enjoyable. Adrien and Marinette shared a shy smile.

They walked to her door. "I really need to go in now."

"Marinette? Is that you? I was worried about you. You went out with Alya and I didn't know where you went, and…"

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng opened the door to find them there, their hands locked.

"I found her." Adrien smiled at her mother.

Before she could answer, her husband came from inside the house.

"Who is it, honey? Is Marinette back yet? Oh! Adrien! It's good to see you!" Adrien freed his hand from Marinette's to greet her father. "Come in, come in! I'm making lunch, do you want to stay and eat with us? Hello, darling."

Her father placed a kiss on the top of her head and didn't wait for Adrien to answer, went back inside to put another plate at the table.

"You're more than welcome to have lunch with us, Adrien." Her mother smiled and followed her husband, chuckling to herself. Adrien and Marinette were finally a couple!

Marinette looked at him embarrassed.

"You don't need to stay if you don't want. They're a little… enthusiastic."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No, but…"

"Then I'd _love_ to have lunch with your family."

Outside her house, Master Fu laughed. Those two surely took their time to realize what he had from the beginning. The reason he chose Adrien and Marinette to be miraculous holders was not for their physical strength, but for the goodness in their hearts, the ability to be selfless. He chose them because they were superhumans.


End file.
